Jonathan Cohn
First published 6/8/11 on Kaiser Health News
Opponents of the Affordable Care Act had another day in court on Wednesday, this time before federal judges in Georgia, representing the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. These opponents want the judges to uphold a ruling, made by a lower federal judge in Florida, that the law is unconstitutional. It’s the third such appeal to go before a Circuit Court — and perhaps a prelude to consideration before the Supreme Court.
As you probably know, the primary focus of the plaintiffs in these lawsuits is the “individual mandate” — the requirement that all people with economic means contribute toward the cost of their health care by obtaining insurance or paying a tax penalty. The constitutional objections to this scheme are varied and complicated. But one argument by the plaintiffs deserves extra scrutiny, because it suggests the plaintiffs misunderstand health care policy, are misapplying a crucial court precedent, or some combination of the two.
The argument is about Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution, which empowers the federal government “to regulate commerce … among the several states.” The Commerce Clause, as it is known, is one of three constitutional provisions that the government has cited as justification for imposing the individual mandate. And its origins should be familiar to anybody with even rudimentary knowledge of American history. In the first years after independence, the country’s governing charter was the Articles of Confederation, in which state autonomy hindered security and hobbled prosperity.
Continue reading “Another Day in Court for the Individual Mandate” →
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